"Rahm Emanuel sought for months to keep the public from seeing a video that shows a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.
Now, a week after the video's release, the Chicago mayor has fired the police superintendent, created a task force for police accountability and expanded the use of body cameras.
But Emanuel's effort to keep the video secret and long wait to take action at the police department have stirred deep skepticism among those protesting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald's death. Many activists are especially incensed by the fact that the video of the October 2014 shooting first surfaced during a re-election campaign, when the mayor was seeking African-American votes."
---Associated Press, December 1, 2015
Mass Shooting in San Bernardino, California
December 2, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: WashingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: DrudgeReport.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: New York Daily News, Front Page, December 3, 2015
Above: New York Timesfront page, December 3, 2015;New York Postfront page, December 3, 2015
"At least two heavily armed attackers opened fire on a banquet at a social services center for the disabled Wednesday, killing 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others in a precision assault that looked 'as if they were on a mission,' authorities said.
About four hours later, police hunting for the killers riddled a black SUV with gunfire in a shootout 2 miles from the late-morning carnage, and a man and woman with assault rifles, handguns and 'assault-style clothing' were killed, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.
A third person who was spotted running near the gunbattle was detained, but Burguan said it was unclear if that person had anything to do with the crime.
The shooting at the social services center occurred at a holiday celebration for workers, not the disabled. It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting since the attack at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, three years ago that left 26 children and adults dead.
Police shed no light on the motive for the massacre. David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said the bureau is looking at several possibilities, including workplace violence and terrorism. He did not elaborate.
Late Wednesday, a law enforcement official who was briefed on the case identified one of the suspects as Syed Farook. The official was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The attackers invaded the Inland Regional Center and began shooting around 11 a.m. Wednesday. They opened fire in a conference area that the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health had rented out for an employee banquet, said Marybeth Feild, president and CEO of the nonprofit center."
"SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A heavily armed man and woman terrorized this city on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 at a social services center before leading the police on a manhunt culminating in a shootout that left the two suspects dead, the authorities said.
Panic, chaos and rumor gripped this largely working-class community about 60 miles east of Los Angeles as the attackers carried out the nation’s worst mass shooting since the assault on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., nearly three years ago.
Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino Police Department identified the two suspects as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27. Mr. Farook was born in the United States. Family members say they were married and had a 6-month-old daughter."
---New York Times, December 2, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Suggests San Bernardino Massacre was "Radical Islamic Terrorism"
December 3, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), GOP presidential candidate
"After three years of study and debate, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military Thursday to open all military jobs to women, removing the final barriers that kept women from serving in combat, including the most dangerous and grueling commando posts.
His landmark decision rebuffed requests by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain infantry and combat jobs and signaled a formal recognition that thousands of women served, and many were wounded or killed, in the last 14 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan."
---Associated Press, December 3, 2015
Portrait Emerges of Radicalized Jihadists in San Bernardino Massacre
December 3, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP undated photo (courtesy California Department of Motor Vehicles) of Syed Rizwan Farook
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Thursday night, U.S. central time, December 3, 2015
Above: New York Daily News,front page, Friday, December 4, 2015
"San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook had been in contact with known Islamic extremists on social media, a U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, and police said he and his wife had enough bullets and bombs to slaughter hundreds when they launched their deadly attack on a holiday party.
The details emerged as investigators tried to determine whether the rampage that left 14 people dead was terrorism, a workplace grudge or some combination.
The husband-and-wife killers were not under FBI scrutiny before the massacre, said a second U.S. official, who likewise was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles, Farook, a 28-year-old county restaurant inspector, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at a social service center for the disabled, where Farook's co-workers had gathered for a holiday banquet Wednesday. Farook had attended the event but slipped out and returned in battle dress.
Four hours later and two miles away, the couple died in a furious gunbattle in which they fired 76 rounds, while 23 law officers unleashed about 380, police said.
On Thursday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan offered a grim morning-after inventory that suggested Wednesday's bloodbath could have been far worse.
At the social service center, the couple left three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned, and they had more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition remaining when police killed them in their rented SUV, Burguan said.
At a family home in the nearby town of Redlands, they had 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more, and over 3,000 additional rounds of ammunition, the chief said."
---Associated Press, December 3, 2015
Monthly Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Adds 211,000 Jobs as Unemployment Rate Continues at 5%
December 4, 2015 (Friday)
Above: New York Timescharts regarding the November 2015 Jobs Report, a report released on December 4, 2015
U.S. Authorities Find ISIS Connection to the San Bernardino Massacre
December 4, 2015 (Friday)
Above: (Left)DrudgeReport.com screen image showing San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook, Friday morning, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015; (Right) DrudgeReport.com screen image showing San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik, Friday night, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Friday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: New York Timeswebsite, screen image, Friday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of San Bernardino jihadists Tashfeen Malik (photo via FBI) and Syed Farook (photo via California DMV), both photos undated
Above: National Postphoto of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, circa 2014
"The FBI said Friday that it is officially investigating the mass shooting in California as an act of terrorism, while a U.S. law enforcement official revealed that the woman who helped her husband carry out the attack had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader on Facebook under an alias.
David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, would not give further details about why the bureau made the determination, saying at a news conference that 'there's a number of pieces of evidence that has pushed us off the cliff.'
Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at the holiday party for his co-workers. The Muslim couple died hours later in a fierce gunbattle with police.
A Facebook official says Tashfeen Malik praised the leader of the Islamic State group in a post at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the couple were believed to have stormed a San Bernardino social service center and opened fire.
The Facebook official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed under corporate policy to be quoted by name, said the company discovered the account Thursday. It removed the profile from public view and reported its contents to law enforcement.
Malik, 27, was a Pakistani who grew up in Saudi Arabia and came to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiancée visa. Farook, a 28-year-old restaurant health inspector for the county, was born in Chicago to Pakistani parents and raised in Southern California.
Another U.S. official said Malik expressed 'admiration' for the extremist group's leader on Facebook under the alias account. But the official said there was no sign that anyone affiliated with the Islamic State communicated back with her, and there was no evidence of any operational instructions being conveyed to her."
---Associated Press, December 4, 2015
iSIS Praises San Bernardino Jihadists Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik as Followers
December 5, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP undated photos (via FBI and California DMV, respectively) of San Bernardino jihadists Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Saturday afternoon, U.S central time, December 5, 2015
Above:New York Times,front page, Sunday, December 6, 2015
"Islamic State said on Saturday that a married couple who killed 14 people in California in an attack the FBI is investigating as an 'act of terrorism' were followers of the militant group based in Syria and Iraq.
The group's declaration, in an online radio broadcast, came three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, a native of Pakistan, carried out the attack on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles.
The two died hours later in a shootout with police.
U.S. government sources have said Malik and her husband may have been inspired by Islamic State, but there was no evidence the attack was directed by the militant group or that the organization even knew who they were. The party the couple attacked was for workers in the same local government agency that employed Farook.
If Wednesday's mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, as investigators now suspect, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001."
---Reuters, December 5, 2015
Carolina Panthers Defeated the New Orleans Saints (41 to 38) to Remain Undefeated (12 Wins, 0 Losses)
"In a rare Oval Office address, President Barack Obama vowed Sunday night the U.S. will overcome a new phase of the terror threat that seeks to 'poison the minds' of people here and around the world, as he sought to reassure Americans shaken by recent attacks in Paris and California."
"President Obama sought on Sunday to calm jittery Americans after the terrorist attack last week in California, delivering a prime-time address designed to underscore the government’s campaign against an evolving threat."
"Mr. Obama is right to caution against the risk of further alienating Muslims in the United States and around the world. The Islamic State has ably exploited the sense of isolation many Muslims feel, and stoking hatred toward Muslims would only play into the group’s hands. Several Republican presidential candidates and many governors are doing just that by portraying Muslims as inherently dangerous and endorsing draconian policies."
---The Editorial Board of The New York Times, December 6, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Calls for Moratorium on Muslim Immigration Into the United States
December 7, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's December 7, 2015 statement calling for a moratorium on Muslim immigration into the United States
"On the left, the view that Republicans allowed the conservative grassroots to turn their party into a political action committee for white ressentiment has evolved over the years from an argument into a creed. Since at least 2012, liberals have been warning (at times mockingly, but never disingenuously) that by indulging and at times fanning the hostilities and procedural extremism of this part of their coalition, Republicans were letting expediency get the better of them.
When large swaths of the conservative movement resisted the notion that the GOP needed to widen its appeal to minorities, and could win by appealing to a broader base of whites, it was liberals who warned that these voters would drag the party into a racial abyss.
Trump is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Better than any Republican candidate in recent memory, he intuits the mood of the disaffected Republican electorate. Or rather, because he’s almost entirely uninterested in straddling party factions, he gives voice to their paranoia and racism without massaging it the way the pretenders to his lead do. It’s possible to imagine a more traditional politician, like Ted Cruz, taking up Trump’s mantle without ever making Reince Priebus or House Speaker Paul Ryan angry, but the platform would look practically identical."
---Brian Beutler, The New Republic, December 8, 2015
"Donald Trump on Tuesday stood by his call to block all Muslims from entering the United States, even as the idea was widely condemned by rival Republican presidential candidates, party leaders and others as un-American."
---Associated Press, December 8, 2015
Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooter Robert L. Dear Lashes Out in Court
"LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 nations reached a landmark accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change."
Above: GOP presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 15, 2015
"Congress ended its chaotic year on a surprising note of bipartisan unity and productivity Friday, overwhelmingly approving a massive 2016 tax and spending package and sending it to President Barack Obama, who promptly signed it."
---Associated Press, December 18, 2015
Donald Trump Continues to Lead the Polls of the GOP Presidential Field
December 18, 2015 (Friday)
Above: December 18, 2015Fox News Twitter post regarding the Fox News poll showing Donald J. Trump leading the GOP presidential field with 39% support
Above: Donald J. Trump Twitter post regarding newly-released Fox News poll, December 18, 2015
Above: Fox NewsTwitter post regarding public support of Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigration into the U.S., December 18, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Campaigns in Daphne, Alabama
December 19, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: Republican presidential candidate U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas speaking at the Daphne Civic Center in Daphne, Alabama on December 19, 2015 (Photo by Mark Leavins)
"DAPHNE, Ala.— After several days of the most intense scrutiny he’s faced as a presidential candidate, Ted Cruz took the stage here on Saturday and delivered a fiery performance to a crowd of more than 1,300 cheering fans, aiming to put a turbulent week behind him.
He roared threats to ISIL. He cracked jokes with the talkative audience members. And he received a big assist from Jeff Sessions, among the party’s staunchest immigration hardliners and, the 2016 contender suggested, a possible secretary of homeland security in a Cruz administration."
---Politico, December 19, 2015
Carolina Panthers Maintain a Perfect Record (14 Wins, 0 Losses) by Defeating the New York Giants, 38 to 35
"Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham ended his 2016 campaign for president Monday, saying he remains committed to working to achieve security for the American people and helping the GOP expand its base."
---Associated Press, December 21, 2015
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, Nine U.S. States Currently Have of Population in Excess of 10 Million
"When the U.S. economy slowed during the recession, so did one of the major demographic shifts of the last several decades. For a brief respite, the Northeast and Midwest stopped shedding quite so many residents to the burgeoning Sun Belt. That trend, though — which has big consequences for politics, among other things — has been picking back up.
New Census data shows the trend accelerating back to its pre-recession pace. Florida, which actually lost more domestic movers than it gained right after the housing bubble burst, picked up about 200,000 net new movers between 2014 and 2015 (this number includes people who move between states, not immigration into the United States from abroad). Illinois, meanwhile, had a net loss of about 105,000 residents, its largest one-year population leak in the 21st century."
"By adding an average of 281 people per day during the last year, North Carolina’s population crossed the 10 million mark, making the state the ninth in that category, according to U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates released today.
North Carolina’s population gain over the July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2015, period ranked it behind only Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and Washington.
Notably, Florida added more people than California for the first time in nearly a decade. Florida’s gain of 365,703 people also pushed it past 20 million, becoming the third state to reach that milestone. California continued to be the most populous state on July 1, 2015, with 39.1 million, followed by Texas with 27.5 million.
North Dakota was the nation’s fastest-growing state or equivalent over the last year, for the fourth year in a row. Its population increased 2.3 percent, followed by 1.9 percent growth in Colorado, the District of Columbia and Nevada. Each of the 10 fastest-growing states was in the South or West with the exception of North Dakota.
Seven states lost population between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015: Illinois (22,194 or -0.17 percent), West Virginia (4,623 or -0.25 percent), Connecticut (3,876 or -0.11 percent), Mississippi (1,110 or -0.04 percent), Maine (928 or -0.07 percent), Vermont (725 or -0.12 percent) and New Mexico (458 or -0.02 percent).
The United States as a whole saw its population increase by 0.79 percent over the period to 321.4 million, slightly faster than the rate of growth over the previous one-year period (0.78 percent)."
---Census Bureau Press Release, December 22, 2015
CNN Poll Has Donald Trump Leading Republican Presidential Field
December 23, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Donald J. Trump
Above: Donald Trump Twitter post, December 23, 2015
Above: Donald Trump Twitter post, December 23, 2015
"Coalition air forces pounded positions held by Islamic State in Ramadi on Thursday, Iraqi military statements said, in support of government troops seeking to retake the western Iraqi city and push on to drive the militants from key population centers.
Warplanes from the US-led coalition carried out 27 strikes against insurgent position in the last district they hold in the center of the Sunni Muslim city, which lies on the river Euphrates some 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, according to a military statement on state TV.The long-awaited drive to dislodge the militants from Ramadi, the loss of which in May dealt a blow to government efforts to root out Islamic State, started early on Tuesday. Army commanders said on Wednesday the battle would take several days. If captured, Ramadi will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from Islamic State in Iraq. Success would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after the militant group seized a third of Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and U.S ally, in a sweeping advance last year.
No ground advance was made on Thursday morning as the troops focused on clearing explosives, a local commander said, asking not be identified. The troops secured the vicinity of the district captured on Tuesday, Hay al-Dhubbat, TV said."
---Reuters, December 24, 2015
Gallup Poll Indicates Christianity is Declining, but Remains Strong in U.S.
December 24, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Gallup.com screen image from article posted on December 24, 2015
"Iraqi troops have pushed deeper into the heart of the last remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi, despite being slowed by bombs and booby traps, army spokesmen said on Saturday.
Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014.
Soldiers advanced overnight in the Hoz neighborhood that houses the provincial government compound, the target of an attack that started on Tuesday, joint operations command spokesman Brigadier Yahya Rasool said."
"Islamic State fighters are putting up a tough fight in the militant-held city of Ramadi, slowing down the advance of Iraqi forces, a senior Iraqi commander said Sunday.
Iraq launched the long-awaited operation to retake the Anbar provincial capital, which was captured by IS militants in May, but after an initial push across the Euphrates River, their progress stalled.
Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of the Anbar military operations, told The Associated Press that the advance was hampered by suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps."
"A Russian ship left Iran on Monday carrying almost all of Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium, fulfilling a major step in the nuclear deal struck last summer and, for the first time in nearly a decade, apparently leaving Iran with too little fuel to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
The shipment was announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and confirmed by a spokesman for Russia’s civilian nuclear company, Rosatom. Mr. Kerry called it 'one of the most significant steps Iran has taken toward fulfilling its commitment,' and American officials say that it may be only weeks before the deal reached in July takes effect."
"A ship carrying 25,000lb (11,000kg) of low-enriched uranium left Iran for Russia on Monday, marking one of the most vital steps yet in a high-stakes deal to deny Iran a nuclear weapon."
---The Guardian, December 28, 2015
Iraqi Forces Claim Major Victory Against ISIS in the City of Ramadi
December 28, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of an Iraqi soldier holding an Iraqi national flag in central Ramadi on Monday, December 28, 2015
Above: Agence France-Presse Twitter post, December 28, 2015
Above: Agence France-Presse map of ISIS presence in Syria and Iraq, December 28, 2015 Twitter post
"Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes drove Islamic State militants out of the center of Ramadi on Monday and seized the main government complex there, according to military officials, who said insurgents are still dug into pockets of the city west of Baghdad.
Ramadi, the provincial capital of the sprawling Anbar province, fell to IS in May, marking a major setback for Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led campaign. Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, which is controlled by IS, saw some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year U.S. intervention in Iraq.
In recent months Iraqi forces launched several offensives to retake Ramadi, but all had stalled. Iraqi troops began advancing into some parts of the city, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Baghdad, earlier this month. But their progress was slowed by snipers, booby traps and the militants' destruction of bridges leading into the city center."
"A triumphant Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Monday that the coming year will see his forces defeat Islamic State, after his military achieved its first major victory since collapsing in the face of the fighters 18 months ago.
Iraqi forces flew the national flag above the main government complex in Ramadi earlier in the day, declaring they had recaptured the city, a provincial capital west of Baghdad which fell to Islamic State fighters in May.
'2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh's presence in Iraq will be terminated,' Abadi said in a speech broadcast on state television, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State that the hardline group rejects.
'We are coming to liberate Mosul and it will be the fatal and final blow to Daesh,' he added. Mosul, northern Iraq's main city, is by far the largest population center in the self-proclaimed caliphate Islamic State rules in Iraq and Syria.
The army's apparent capture of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of Baghdad, marks a major milestone for U.S.-trained force that crumbled when Islamic State fighters charged into Iraq in June 2014. In previous battles since then, Iraq's armed forces operated mainly in a supporting role beside Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.
Soldiers were shown on state television on Monday publicly slaughtering a sheep in an act of celebration."
---Reuters, December 28, 2015
Ohio Grand Jury Declines to Indict the Police Officer who Shot and Killed Tamir Rice
"Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi on Tuesday after the army retook the city center from Islamic State a day earlier, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats.
If the Anbar provincial capital can be fully secured and re-populated, it would be the first major success for the U.S.-trained force that fled 18 months ago as jihadist Islamic State militants surged through northern and western Iraq."
---Reuters, December 29, 2015
The Dow Gains 192 Points, Closing at 17,720
December 29, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 192 points on December 29, 2015, closing at 17,720
Iconic Celebrity Bill Cosby Charged in Pennsylvania with Sexual Assault
December 30, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, December 30, 2015
Above: AP photo of Bill Cosby being escorted outside of the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania court, December 30, 2015
Above: AP copy of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania booking photo of Bill Cosby, December 30, 2015
"Bill Cosby was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a woman after plying her with drugs and alcohol in 2004, marking the only criminal case against the once-beloved performer whose father-figure persona has been tainted by dozens of misconduct accusations.
Cosby, 78, walking with a cane and accompanied by two lawyers, appeared for his arraignment hours later at a courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, where he posted a $1 million bond, turned over his passport and was ordered to avoid any contact with his accuser."
"Bill Cosby was arrested in the twilight of his life and career Wednesday and charged with a decade-old sex crime after a barrage of accusations from dozens of women made a mockery of his image as TV's wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
Holding a cane, the 78-year-old comedian walked slowly and unsteadily into court on the arms of his lawyers to answer charges he drugged and sexually assaulted a woman less than half his age at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He had no comment as he was released on $1 million bail.
The case marks the first time Cosby has been charged with sexual misconduct despite years of lurid allegations and sets the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial of the mobile-news era."
---Associated Press, December 30, 2015
Massive Fire at Dubai, United Arab Emirates Skyscraper on New Year's Eve that Continued into 2016 (Dubai, Time)
December 31, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a burning skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 31, 2015
Above: BBC and AP maps/graphics regarding the massive hotel fire in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2015
December 2015
Embattled Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Fires the Chicago Police Chief
December 1, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel
Associated Press: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Fires Chicago's Police Chief, December 1, 2015
"Rahm Emanuel sought for months to keep the public from seeing a video that shows a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.
Now, a week after the video's release, the Chicago mayor has fired the police superintendent, created a task force for police accountability and expanded the use of body cameras.
But Emanuel's effort to keep the video secret and long wait to take action at the police department have stirred deep skepticism among those protesting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald's death. Many activists are especially incensed by the fact that the video of the October 2014 shooting first surfaced during a re-election campaign, when the mayor was seeking African-American votes."
---Associated Press, December 1, 2015
Mass Shooting in San Bernardino, California
December 2, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: WashingtonPost.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: DrudgeReport.com screen image, Wednesday night, U.S. central time, December 2, 2015
Above: New York Daily News, Front Page, December 3, 2015
Above: New York Times front page, December 3, 2015; New York Post front page, December 3, 2015
Associated Press: Coverage of the December 2, 2015 Shooting Massacre in San Bernardino, California
"At least two heavily armed attackers opened fire on a banquet at a social services center for the disabled Wednesday, killing 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others in a precision assault that looked 'as if they were on a mission,' authorities said.
About four hours later, police hunting for the killers riddled a black SUV with gunfire in a shootout 2 miles from the late-morning carnage, and a man and woman with assault rifles, handguns and 'assault-style clothing' were killed, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.
A third person who was spotted running near the gunbattle was detained, but Burguan said it was unclear if that person had anything to do with the crime.
The shooting at the social services center occurred at a holiday celebration for workers, not the disabled. It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting since the attack at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, three years ago that left 26 children and adults dead.
Police shed no light on the motive for the massacre. David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said the bureau is looking at several possibilities, including workplace violence and terrorism. He did not elaborate.
Late Wednesday, a law enforcement official who was briefed on the case identified one of the suspects as Syed Farook. The official was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The attackers invaded the Inland Regional Center and began shooting around 11 a.m. Wednesday. They opened fire in a conference area that the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health had rented out for an employee banquet, said Marybeth Feild, president and CEO of the nonprofit center."
---Associated Press, December 2, 2015
New York Times: Coverage of the December 2, 2015 Massacre in San Bernardino
"SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A heavily armed man and woman terrorized this city on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 at a social services center before leading the police on a manhunt culminating in a shootout that left the two suspects dead, the authorities said.
Panic, chaos and rumor gripped this largely working-class community about 60 miles east of Los Angeles as the attackers carried out the nation’s worst mass shooting since the assault on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., nearly three years ago.
Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino Police Department identified the two suspects as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27. Mr. Farook was born in the United States. Family members say they were married and had a 6-month-old daughter."
---New York Times, December 2, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Suggests San Bernardino Massacre was "Radical Islamic Terrorism"
December 3, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), GOP presidential candidate
Washington Post: Ted Cruz Suggests San Bernardino Massacre was "Radical Islamic Terrorism," December 3, 2015
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Orders the U.S. Military to Open All Combat Jobs to Women
December 3, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at the Pentagon, Thursday, December 3, 2015; President Barack Obama, portrait
Associated Press: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Opens All Military Jobs to Women, December 3, 2015
"After three years of study and debate, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military Thursday to open all military jobs to women, removing the final barriers that kept women from serving in combat, including the most dangerous and grueling commando posts.
His landmark decision rebuffed requests by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain infantry and combat jobs and signaled a formal recognition that thousands of women served, and many were wounded or killed, in the last 14 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan."
---Associated Press, December 3, 2015
Portrait Emerges of Radicalized Jihadists in San Bernardino Massacre
December 3, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP undated photo (courtesy California Department of Motor Vehicles) of Syed Rizwan Farook
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Thursday night, U.S. central time, December 3, 2015
Above: New York Daily News, front page, Friday, December 4, 2015
Associated Press: Aftermath of the San Bernardino Attacks
"San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook had been in contact with known Islamic extremists on social media, a U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, and police said he and his wife had enough bullets and bombs to slaughter hundreds when they launched their deadly attack on a holiday party.
The details emerged as investigators tried to determine whether the rampage that left 14 people dead was terrorism, a workplace grudge or some combination.
The husband-and-wife killers were not under FBI scrutiny before the massacre, said a second U.S. official, who likewise was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles, Farook, a 28-year-old county restaurant inspector, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at a social service center for the disabled, where Farook's co-workers had gathered for a holiday banquet Wednesday. Farook had attended the event but slipped out and returned in battle dress.
Four hours later and two miles away, the couple died in a furious gunbattle in which they fired 76 rounds, while 23 law officers unleashed about 380, police said.
On Thursday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan offered a grim morning-after inventory that suggested Wednesday's bloodbath could have been far worse.
At the social service center, the couple left three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned, and they had more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition remaining when police killed them in their rented SUV, Burguan said.
At a family home in the nearby town of Redlands, they had 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more, and over 3,000 additional rounds of ammunition, the chief said."
---Associated Press, December 3, 2015
Monthly Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Adds 211,000 Jobs as Unemployment Rate Continues at 5%
December 4, 2015 (Friday)
Above: New York Times charts regarding the November 2015 Jobs Report, a report released on December 4, 2015
New York Times: U.S. Economy Adds 211.000 Jobs in November 2015
U.S. Authorities Find ISIS Connection to the San Bernardino Massacre
December 4, 2015 (Friday)
Above: (Left) DrudgeReport.com screen image showing San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook, Friday morning, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015; (Right) DrudgeReport.com screen image showing San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik, Friday night, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Friday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: New York Times website, screen image, Friday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of San Bernardino jihadists Tashfeen Malik (photo via FBI) and Syed Farook (photo via California DMV), both photos undated
Above: National Post photo of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, circa 2014
Above: New York Times front page, December 5, 2015
Associated Press: Tashfeen Malik
CNN: U.S. Authorities Claim an ISIS Connection in the San Bernardino Attacks
Washington Post: The Fourteen Victims at San Bernardino
Associated Press: San Bernardino Shooter Pledged Allegiance to ISIS, According to U.S. Authorities
"The FBI said Friday that it is officially investigating the mass shooting in California as an act of terrorism, while a U.S. law enforcement official revealed that the woman who helped her husband carry out the attack had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader on Facebook under an alias.
David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, would not give further details about why the bureau made the determination, saying at a news conference that 'there's a number of pieces of evidence that has pushed us off the cliff.'
Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at the holiday party for his co-workers. The Muslim couple died hours later in a fierce gunbattle with police.
A Facebook official says Tashfeen Malik praised the leader of the Islamic State group in a post at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the couple were believed to have stormed a San Bernardino social service center and opened fire.
The Facebook official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed under corporate policy to be quoted by name, said the company discovered the account Thursday. It removed the profile from public view and reported its contents to law enforcement.
Malik, 27, was a Pakistani who grew up in Saudi Arabia and came to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiancée visa. Farook, a 28-year-old restaurant health inspector for the county, was born in Chicago to Pakistani parents and raised in Southern California.
Another U.S. official said Malik expressed 'admiration' for the extremist group's leader on Facebook under the alias account. But the official said there was no sign that anyone affiliated with the Islamic State communicated back with her, and there was no evidence of any operational instructions being conveyed to her."
---Associated Press, December 4, 2015
iSIS Praises San Bernardino Jihadists Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik as Followers
December 5, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP undated photos (via FBI and California DMV, respectively) of San Bernardino jihadists Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Saturday afternoon, U.S central time, December 5, 2015
Above:New York Times, front page, Sunday, December 6, 2015
Reuters: ISIS Praises Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik as Followers, December 5, 2015
"Islamic State said on Saturday that a married couple who killed 14 people in California in an attack the FBI is investigating as an 'act of terrorism' were followers of the militant group based in Syria and Iraq.
The group's declaration, in an online radio broadcast, came three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, a native of Pakistan, carried out the attack on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles.
The two died hours later in a shootout with police.
U.S. government sources have said Malik and her husband may have been inspired by Islamic State, but there was no evidence the attack was directed by the militant group or that the organization even knew who they were. The party the couple attacked was for workers in the same local government agency that employed Farook.
If Wednesday's mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, as investigators now suspect, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001."
---Reuters, December 5, 2015
Carolina Panthers Defeated the New Orleans Saints (41 to 38) to Remain Undefeated (12 Wins, 0 Losses)
December 6, 2015 (Sunday)
ESPN: Carolina QB Cam Newton Throws Five Touchdowns in Win Over the Saints, December 6, 2015
President Barack Obama Gives Oval Office Address Regarding the Fight Against ISIS
December 6, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of President Barack Obama delivering televised Oval Office address at the White House, Washington, DC, Sunday, December 6, 2015
Above: New York Times front page, print edition, Monday, December 7, 2015
Associated Press: President Obama Delivers Oval Office Address, December 6, 2015
"In a rare Oval Office address, President Barack Obama vowed Sunday night the U.S. will overcome a new phase of the terror threat that seeks to 'poison the minds' of people here and around the world, as he sought to reassure Americans shaken by recent attacks in Paris and California."
---Associated Press, December 6, 2015
New York Times: Coverage of President Obama's Oval Office Address, December 6, 2015
"President Obama sought on Sunday to calm jittery Americans after the terrorist attack last week in California, delivering a prime-time address designed to underscore the government’s campaign against an evolving threat."
---New York Times, December 6, 2015
New York Times Editorial Board: In Praise of President Obama's Oval Office Address
"Mr. Obama is right to caution against the risk of further alienating Muslims in the United States and around the world. The Islamic State has ably exploited the sense of isolation many Muslims feel, and stoking hatred toward Muslims would only play into the group’s hands. Several Republican presidential candidates and many governors are doing just that by portraying Muslims as inherently dangerous and endorsing draconian policies."
---The Editorial Board of The New York Times, December 6, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Calls for Moratorium on Muslim Immigration Into the United States
December 7, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's December 7, 2015 statement calling for a moratorium on Muslim immigration into the United States
DonaldJTrump.com: Press Release, December 7, 2015
Above: DrudgeReport.com screen image, Monday night, U.S. central time, December 7, 2015
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Monday night, U.S. central time, December 7, 2015
Above: New York Times front page, December 8, 2015
Donald Trump Stands Firm on his Call for a Moratorium on Muslim Immigration into the United States
December 8, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Tuesday afternoon, U.S. central time, December 8, 2015
Above: DailyMail.co.uk screen image, Tuesday night, U.S. central time, December 8, 2015
Above: Economist.com graph regarding Donald Trump's polling numbers in 2015
Above: Slate.com chart showing Republican attitudes regarding the Islamic religion and Muslims, posted December 8, 2015
Fascism in Europe and America
Brian Beutler: Trump as the Logical Outcome of the American Right, December 8, 2015
"On the left, the view that Republicans allowed the conservative grassroots to turn their party into a political action committee for white ressentiment has evolved over the years from an argument into a creed. Since at least 2012, liberals have been warning (at times mockingly, but never disingenuously) that by indulging and at times fanning the hostilities and procedural extremism of this part of their coalition, Republicans were letting expediency get the better of them.
When large swaths of the conservative movement resisted the notion that the GOP needed to widen its appeal to minorities, and could win by appealing to a broader base of whites, it was liberals who warned that these voters would drag the party into a racial abyss.
Trump is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Better than any Republican candidate in recent memory, he intuits the mood of the disaffected Republican electorate. Or rather, because he’s almost entirely uninterested in straddling party factions, he gives voice to their paranoia and racism without massaging it the way the pretenders to his lead do. It’s possible to imagine a more traditional politician, like Ted Cruz, taking up Trump’s mantle without ever making Reince Priebus or House Speaker Paul Ryan angry, but the platform would look practically identical."
---Brian Beutler, The New Republic, December 8, 2015
Associated Press: Donald Trump Stands Firm, December 8, 2015
"Donald Trump on Tuesday stood by his call to block all Muslims from entering the United States, even as the idea was widely condemned by rival Republican presidential candidates, party leaders and others as un-American."
---Associated Press, December 8, 2015
Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooter Robert L. Dear Lashes Out in Court
December 9, 2015 (Wednesday)
The Daily Beast: Robert L. Dear, "Warrior for the Babies"
Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Shooter Robert L. Dear Declares Himself a "Warrior for the Babies"
New York Times/CBS Poll: Donald J. Trump Leads the Republican Presidential Field
December 10, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Donald J. Trump
New York Times: Donald Trump Leads GOP Field in NYT-CBS Poll Released on December 10, 2015
CBS News: Donald Trump Leads GOP Presidential Field at 35%; Ted Cruz in Second Place
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Loses Over 300 Points
December 11, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow losing 309 points, closing at 17,265 on December 11, 2015
195 Nations Reach Accord on Measures to Combat Global Warming
December 12, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, Saturday night, U.S. central time, December 12, 2015
New York Times: Major International Agreement Reached on Climate Change, December 12, 2015
"LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 nations reached a landmark accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change."
---New York Times, December 12, 2015
The New Republic: The Paris Accord, December 12, 2015
Carolina Panthers Maintain Perfect Record (13 Wins, 0 Losses) by Beating the Atlanta Falcons, 38-0
December 13, 2015 (Sunday)
ESPN: Carolina Panthers 38, Atlanta Falcons 0
Donald Trump Polling Well on the Eve of the Last GOP Debate of 2015
December 14, 2015 (Monday)
Above: DrudgeReport.com screen image, Monday night, U.S. central time, December 14, 2015
Above: Donald J. Trump
Above: Politico.com screen image, Monday night, U.S. central time, December 14, 2015
Above: ABC News graph, December 14, 2015
Politico: Donald Trump Surges to 41% in Monmouth National Poll (Released on December 14, 2015)
Washington Post: Poll Finds a Majority of Republicans Support Trump's Call to Ban Muslim Immigration into the U.S.
ABC News: Majority of Republicans Support Trump's Plan to Ban Muslim Immigration into the U.S.
GOP Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, Nevada
December 15, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: GOP presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 15, 2015
Associated Press: Coverage of the GOP Presidential Debate Held on December 15, 2015
Politico: Views of Insiders of the December 15, 2015 GOP Debate
Washington Post Editorial: The New Normal for the GOP
The Dow Gains 224 Points After the Fed Announces a Modest Rate Increase
December 16, 2015 (Wednesday)
The Dow Loses 253 Points
December 17, 2015 (Thursday)
Nationwide Premiere of Star Wars, The Force Awakens
December 18, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Movie poster for Star Wars, The Force Awakens
December 18, 2015 (Friday)
Congress Passes and President Obama Signs Omnibus Spending Bill
December 18, 2015 (Friday)
Associated Press: Congress Passes and Obama Signs Spending Bill, December 18, 2015
"Congress ended its chaotic year on a surprising note of bipartisan unity and productivity Friday, overwhelmingly approving a massive 2016 tax and spending package and sending it to President Barack Obama, who promptly signed it."
---Associated Press, December 18, 2015
Donald Trump Continues to Lead the Polls of the GOP Presidential Field
December 18, 2015 (Friday)
Above: December 18, 2015 Fox News Twitter post regarding the Fox News poll showing Donald J. Trump leading the GOP presidential field with 39% support
Above: Donald J. Trump Twitter post regarding newly-released Fox News poll, December 18, 2015
Above: Fox News Twitter post regarding public support of Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigration into the U.S., December 18, 2015
GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Campaigns in Daphne, Alabama
December 19, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: Republican presidential candidate U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas speaking at the Daphne Civic Center in Daphne, Alabama on December 19, 2015 (Photo by Mark Leavins)
AL.com: Ted Cruz Campaigns in Daphne, Alabama, December 19, 2015
Washington Post: Coverage of Ted Cruz in Daphne, Alabama, December 19, 2015
Politico: Coverage of Ted Cruz in Daphne, Alabama, December 19, 2015
"DAPHNE, Ala.— After several days of the most intense scrutiny he’s faced as a presidential candidate, Ted Cruz took the stage here on Saturday and delivered a fiery performance to a crowd of more than 1,300 cheering fans, aiming to put a turbulent week behind him.
He roared threats to ISIL. He cracked jokes with the talkative audience members. And he received a big assist from Jeff Sessions, among the party’s staunchest immigration hardliners and, the 2016 contender suggested, a possible secretary of homeland security in a Cruz administration."
---Politico, December 19, 2015
Carolina Panthers Maintain a Perfect Record (14 Wins, 0 Losses) by Defeating the New York Giants, 38 to 35
December 20, 2015 (Sunday)
ESPN: Carolina Panthers 38, New York Giants 35
New York Times: Carolina Panthers 38, New York Giants 35
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) Drops His Presidential Bid
December 21, 2015 (Monday)
Above: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina
Associated Press: Lindsey Graham Ends Presidential Bid, December 21, 2015
"Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham ended his 2016 campaign for president Monday, saying he remains committed to working to achieve security for the American people and helping the GOP expand its base."
---Associated Press, December 21, 2015
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, Nine U.S. States Currently Have of Population in Excess of 10 Million
December 22, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above:
Above:
Above:
Washington Post: State and Regional Population Changes from Mid-2014 to Mid-2015
"When the U.S. economy slowed during the recession, so did one of the major demographic shifts of the last several decades. For a brief respite, the Northeast and Midwest stopped shedding quite so many residents to the burgeoning Sun Belt. That trend, though — which has big consequences for politics, among other things — has been picking back up.
New Census data shows the trend accelerating back to its pre-recession pace. Florida, which actually lost more domestic movers than it gained right after the housing bubble burst, picked up about 200,000 net new movers between 2014 and 2015 (this number includes people who move between states, not immigration into the United States from abroad). Illinois, meanwhile, had a net loss of about 105,000 residents, its largest one-year population leak in the 21st century."
---Washington Post, December 28, 2015
Census.gov: North Carolina Becomes the 9th State to Attain a Population of Over 10 Million
"By adding an average of 281 people per day during the last year, North Carolina’s population crossed the 10 million mark, making the state the ninth in that category, according to U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates released today.
North Carolina’s population gain over the July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2015, period ranked it behind only Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and Washington.
Notably, Florida added more people than California for the first time in nearly a decade. Florida’s gain of 365,703 people also pushed it past 20 million, becoming the third state to reach that milestone. California continued to be the most populous state on July 1, 2015, with 39.1 million, followed by Texas with 27.5 million.
North Dakota was the nation’s fastest-growing state or equivalent over the last year, for the fourth year in a row. Its population increased 2.3 percent, followed by 1.9 percent growth in Colorado, the District of Columbia and Nevada. Each of the 10 fastest-growing states was in the South or West with the exception of North Dakota.
Seven states lost population between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015: Illinois (22,194 or -0.17 percent), West Virginia (4,623 or -0.25 percent), Connecticut (3,876 or -0.11 percent), Mississippi (1,110 or -0.04 percent), Maine (928 or -0.07 percent), Vermont (725 or -0.12 percent) and New Mexico (458 or -0.02 percent).
The United States as a whole saw its population increase by 0.79 percent over the period to 321.4 million, slightly faster than the rate of growth over the previous one-year period (0.78 percent)."
---Census Bureau Press Release, December 22, 2015
CNN Poll Has Donald Trump Leading Republican Presidential Field
December 23, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Donald J. Trump
Above: Donald Trump Twitter post, December 23, 2015
Above: Donald Trump Twitter post, December 23, 2015
CNN Poll Released on December 23, 2015 Claims Strong Donald Trump Lead Over the GOP Presidential Field
Politico: Thirteen Occasions Donald Trump Didn't Fade Away
The Battle for ISIS-Occupied Ramadi, Iraq
December 24, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Map of Iraq
New York Times: Coverage of the Struggle for Ramadi, Iraq, December 24, 2015
Reuters: Coverage of the Battle for Ramadi, December 24, 2015
"Coalition air forces pounded positions held by Islamic State in Ramadi on Thursday, Iraqi military statements said, in support of government troops seeking to retake the western Iraqi city and push on to drive the militants from key population centers.
Warplanes from the US-led coalition carried out 27 strikes against insurgent position in the last district they hold in the center of the Sunni Muslim city, which lies on the river Euphrates some 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, according to a military statement on state TV.The long-awaited drive to dislodge the militants from Ramadi, the loss of which in May dealt a blow to government efforts to root out Islamic State, started early on Tuesday. Army commanders said on Wednesday the battle would take several days. If captured, Ramadi will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from Islamic State in Iraq. Success would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after the militant group seized a third of Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and U.S ally, in a sweeping advance last year.
No ground advance was made on Thursday morning as the troops focused on clearing explosives, a local commander said, asking not be identified. The troops secured the vicinity of the district captured on Tuesday, Hay al-Dhubbat, TV said."
---Reuters, December 24, 2015
Gallup Poll Indicates Christianity is Declining, but Remains Strong in U.S.
December 24, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Gallup.com screen image from article posted on December 24, 2015
Gallup: Three-Quarters of Americans Identify as Christian
Nationwide Premiere of Concussion
December 25, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Movie Poster for Concussion
Iraqi Forces on the Verge of Taking Ramadi from ISIS
December 26, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: Map of Iraq
Reuters: iraqi Forces on the Cusp of Taking the City of Ramadi, December 26, 2015
"Iraqi troops have pushed deeper into the heart of the last remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi, despite being slowed by bombs and booby traps, army spokesmen said on Saturday.
Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014.
Soldiers advanced overnight in the Hoz neighborhood that houses the provincial government compound, the target of an attack that started on Tuesday, joint operations command spokesman Brigadier Yahya Rasool said."
---Reuters, December 26, 2015
The Battle for Ramadi, Iraq
December 27, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: Map of Iraq
Associated Press: Coverage of the Battle for Ramadi, Iraq, December 27, 2015
"Islamic State fighters are putting up a tough fight in the militant-held city of Ramadi, slowing down the advance of Iraqi forces, a senior Iraqi commander said Sunday.
Iraq launched the long-awaited operation to retake the Anbar provincial capital, which was captured by IS militants in May, but after an initial push across the Euphrates River, their progress stalled.
Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of the Anbar military operations, told The Associated Press that the advance was hampered by suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps."
---Associated Press, December 27, 2015
Reuters: Iraq Forces Claim to Have Re-Taken Ramadi, December 27, 2015
The Iranian Nuclear Deal: Iran Hands Over Enriched Uranium to Russia
December 28, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Map of Iran; Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
New York Times: Iran Hands Over Enriched Uranium to Russia, in Accordance with the Iranian Nuclear Agreement, December 28, 2015
"A Russian ship left Iran on Monday carrying almost all of Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium, fulfilling a major step in the nuclear deal struck last summer and, for the first time in nearly a decade, apparently leaving Iran with too little fuel to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
The shipment was announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and confirmed by a spokesman for Russia’s civilian nuclear company, Rosatom. Mr. Kerry called it 'one of the most significant steps Iran has taken toward fulfilling its commitment,' and American officials say that it may be only weeks before the deal reached in July takes effect."
---New York Times, December 28, 2015
TheGuardian.com: Per the Nuclear Deal, Iran Ships Enriched Uranium to Russia, December 28, 2015
"A ship carrying 25,000lb (11,000kg) of low-enriched uranium left Iran for Russia on Monday, marking one of the most vital steps yet in a high-stakes deal to deny Iran a nuclear weapon."
---The Guardian, December 28, 2015
Iraqi Forces Claim Major Victory Against ISIS in the City of Ramadi
December 28, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of an Iraqi soldier holding an Iraqi national flag in central Ramadi on Monday, December 28, 2015
Above: Agence France-Presse Twitter post, December 28, 2015
Above: Agence France-Presse map of ISIS presence in Syria and Iraq, December 28, 2015 Twitter post
Associated Press: Coverage of the Battle for Ramadi, Iraq, December 28, 2015
"Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes drove Islamic State militants out of the center of Ramadi on Monday and seized the main government complex there, according to military officials, who said insurgents are still dug into pockets of the city west of Baghdad.
Ramadi, the provincial capital of the sprawling Anbar province, fell to IS in May, marking a major setback for Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led campaign. Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, which is controlled by IS, saw some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year U.S. intervention in Iraq.
In recent months Iraqi forces launched several offensives to retake Ramadi, but all had stalled. Iraqi troops began advancing into some parts of the city, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Baghdad, earlier this month. But their progress was slowed by snipers, booby traps and the militants' destruction of bridges leading into the city center."
---Associated Press, December 28, 2015
Reuters: Iraq's Prime Minister Vows to Defeat ISIS, December 28, 2015
"A triumphant Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Monday that the coming year will see his forces defeat Islamic State, after his military achieved its first major victory since collapsing in the face of the fighters 18 months ago.
Iraqi forces flew the national flag above the main government complex in Ramadi earlier in the day, declaring they had recaptured the city, a provincial capital west of Baghdad which fell to Islamic State fighters in May.
'2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh's presence in Iraq will be terminated,' Abadi said in a speech broadcast on state television, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State that the hardline group rejects.
'We are coming to liberate Mosul and it will be the fatal and final blow to Daesh,' he added. Mosul, northern Iraq's main city, is by far the largest population center in the self-proclaimed caliphate Islamic State rules in Iraq and Syria.
The army's apparent capture of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of Baghdad, marks a major milestone for U.S.-trained force that crumbled when Islamic State fighters charged into Iraq in June 2014. In previous battles since then, Iraq's armed forces operated mainly in a supporting role beside Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.
Soldiers were shown on state television on Monday publicly slaughtering a sheep in an act of celebration."
---Reuters, December 28, 2015
Ohio Grand Jury Declines to Indict the Police Officer who Shot and Killed Tamir Rice
December 28, 2015 (Monday)
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Associated Press: No Indictment for the Cleveland, Ohio Police Officer who Shot and Killed Tamir Rice, December 28, 2015
The War Against ISIS: Iraqi Prime Minister Tours the Re-Captured City of Ramadi
December 29, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi raising an Iraqi flag in Ramadi, Iraq on Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Above: AP photo of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi touring Ramadi, Iraq on Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Above: AP maps (posted December 29, 2015) regarding the Iraqi government's re-conquest of Ramadi, Iraq from ISIS
Associated Press: Iraq's Prime Minister Tours Ramadi, December 29, 2015
Reuters: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Tours Ramadi, Iraq, December 29, 2015
"Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi on Tuesday after the army retook the city center from Islamic State a day earlier, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats.
If the Anbar provincial capital can be fully secured and re-populated, it would be the first major success for the U.S.-trained force that fled 18 months ago as jihadist Islamic State militants surged through northern and western Iraq."
---Reuters, December 29, 2015
The Dow Gains 192 Points, Closing at 17,720
December 29, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 192 points on December 29, 2015, closing at 17,720
Iconic Celebrity Bill Cosby Charged in Pennsylvania with Sexual Assault
December 30, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: HuffingtonPost.com screen image, December 30, 2015
Above: AP photo of Bill Cosby being escorted outside of the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania court, December 30, 2015
Above: AP copy of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania booking photo of Bill Cosby, December 30, 2015
Above: The Hill Twitter post, December 30, 2015
Reuters: Bill Cosby Charged in Pennsylvania with Sexual Assault, December 30, 2015
"Bill Cosby was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a woman after plying her with drugs and alcohol in 2004, marking the only criminal case against the once-beloved performer whose father-figure persona has been tainted by dozens of misconduct accusations.
Cosby, 78, walking with a cane and accompanied by two lawyers, appeared for his arraignment hours later at a courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, where he posted a $1 million bond, turned over his passport and was ordered to avoid any contact with his accuser."
---Reuters, December 30, 2015
Associated Press: Bill Cosby Charged with Sexual Assault, December 30, 2015
"Bill Cosby was arrested in the twilight of his life and career Wednesday and charged with a decade-old sex crime after a barrage of accusations from dozens of women made a mockery of his image as TV's wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
Holding a cane, the 78-year-old comedian walked slowly and unsteadily into court on the arms of his lawyers to answer charges he drugged and sexually assaulted a woman less than half his age at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He had no comment as he was released on $1 million bail.
The case marks the first time Cosby has been charged with sexual misconduct despite years of lurid allegations and sets the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial of the mobile-news era."
---Associated Press, December 30, 2015
Massive Fire at Dubai, United Arab Emirates Skyscraper on New Year's Eve that Continued into 2016 (Dubai, Time)
December 31, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a burning skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 31, 2015
Above: BBC and AP maps/graphics regarding the massive hotel fire in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2015
Associated Press: Coverage of the Massive Hotel Fire in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2015
BBC: Coverage of the Massive Fire at the Address Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2015
Reuters: Coverage of the Skyscraper Fire in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2015
Associated Press: Coverage of New Year's Eve
The Dow Jones Industrial Average at the End of 2015: Closed at 17,425
December 31, 2015 (Thursday)
January 2016